This invention relates to storage and display devices for use in cabinets, particularly in kitchen cabinets above eye level.
In kitchen cabinets and other similar storage areas, it is difficult to see items which are stored on shelves above eye level. To alleviate this problem, stair-step-shaped rectangular storage and display units have been provided, such as those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,025,137 and D 372,374. Such devices work well for ordinary cabinets, but corner cabinets cause special problems which have been recognized by the inventors herein.
In corner cabinets, typically the access opening is considerably smaller than the space inside the cabinet. Thus, the when one of the prior art storage and display units is used in such cabinets, the device only occupies a small fraction of the available space in the cabinet so that all of the objects mounted on the device for storage are visible to the observer from below. Thus, there is a substantial amount of wasted space in such arrangements.
In some corner cabinets, rotary shelf structures are installed when the cabinets are being built. Such structures include a vertical axle anchored at the top and the bottom in the corner cabinet, with several shelves rotatably mounted on the axle and spaced vertically from one another. Although such rotary shelves make it possible to see many more objects being stored than with fixed shelves, the shelves are relatively expensive and often must be installed during the building of the cabinets rather than later. Additionally, it is very difficult to see objects on the top shelf.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a solution for the foregoing problems. In particular, it is the object of the invention to provide a relatively inexpensive stepped storage and display device which can be used to display a relatively large number of objects in a manner such that they can be seen easily.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a rotary storage and display device in a cabinet with restricted access space such as in a corner cabinet and a method of installing the device simply and easily.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a device which is easy to use and assemble and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
The foregoing objectives are met, in accordance with the present invention, by the provision of a rotary stepped pyramid-shaped shelf storage and display device.
In particular, the invention provides such a device which is sold to the consumer in separate sections which are small enough to pass through restricted access openings in corner cabinets and the like, and which easily can be assembled when inside the cabinet to produce a stepped storage device which is too large to pass through the access opening when fully assembled. Because it is a rotary device, items which are stored on it can be seen by simply rotating the device to bring the items into view through the access opening to the cabinet.
Preferably, the parts of the storage and display device are formed so that when they are assembled, the device has a central hole large enough to allow the device to rotate about a vertical fixed axle in a corner cabinet which already is equipped with a vertical axle and rotary shelves. Preferably, the storage and display device rests on one or more of the upper shelves of such an arrangement, thus making it possible to better see the objects on the upper shelves.
Preferably, the sections of the storage and display device are provided with snap-acting fasteners so as to allow the parts to be assembled together simply by pressing the parts of the fasteners on one section into the complementary parts of the fasteners on the other section to snap the sections together.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in or will be apparent from the following description and drawings.